Mikala squeezed her eyes shut in fear, struggling to not to scream again.

The bugs near Mel's feet blacken and popped as the flames around her brighten
and descend. She steps lightly through the mess to Darien.

"Attiles, watch our rear."

The kids moved to obey Darien.

The bushes at the edge of the garden shook as something large worked to push
through them.

Alidar started back up and concentrated. Imari dropped onto his shoulder
as if watching over him

"Goldie," Lonnie called.

Goldie growled at the bushes and then bounced to Lonnie's side.

Mikala shoved the palm of her hand in to her mouth to keep another scream
in. Her eyes wild and a look of fear beyond reasoning thought in them.

The foliage seem to shimmer a bit as something like a curtain began to form
and gain substance.

Jan took Mikala's left arm and Tiri took the right one and they began to
half carry her toward the house.

The bushes at the other side of the garden parted and wide, yellow reptilian
eyes stared in at them.

Mel reaches back to grab Mikala and pull her along. "Move Mikala. Focus on
the house nothing else. Feel how solid it is. How clean."

The bushes on the opposite side collapsed and deep crimson eyes glowed out
from the gloom.

"Lonnie, keep us moving," Darien commanded. Then he dropped back to help
Attiles.

Mel looked at Tiri. "If she doesn't calm down smack her." Then moved away
towards the nearer beast.

Mel's hands and body started to glow brighter then the glow transformed into
a large ball of fire racing across the lawn at the reptile.

The reptile let out a roar as the fireball exploded around it, blackening
its scales.

The group around Mikala continued to move towards the house.

Mikala suddenly balked against the hold the girls had on her arms. "No! This
is my fault! Get out of here! They just want me. I don't want any of you
to get hurt because of me!"

"No, you're our sister. We don't abandon our own." Tiri answered.

Melody retreated back to the group, walking backwards. She grinned and realized
she forgot something.... She holds up her necklace and the tiny gold symbol
there, holding it up as a focus for her power.

Mikala looked down at her and the fight went out of her.

"Now clear you're mind." Jan told her. "Fear draws them."

Mikala nodded, closing her eyes.

One of the creatures tried to lunge forward, but seemed to run up against
something. It bellowed and tried to push through it.

Darien and Attiles backed away from the creatures.

The flying creatures were gone.

Alidar continues to focus on his barrier.

Lonnie and Goldie moved toward the house, cutting their way thought what
remained of the lesser demons and the monkeys.

The reptilian creature slammed into the barrier.

Mel glanced at the skies noticing the lack as well. She kept backing up towards
the group.

"Attiles, when we get to the house, you and the others pull out of the astral
plane." Darien ordered.

Alidar's eyes squinted with the extra effort.

"Ok, " the boy answered.

The door to the house suddenly opened and a woman stepped out. Short dark
hair hanging into her eyes and a wicked looking vibroshiv in her hand. A
vicious snarl twisted her tough looking features.

"I made the demons?" Mikala asked in a small voice. She closed her eyes when
Mel mentioned her Mother.

"Oh, and a bird." Mel finished.

"And Goldie." Lonnie added.

"What you think of can become real there. Fire can burn, or not burn at all
if you don't believe in it." Mel looks apologetic. "Yes Goldie." Mel reaches
over to caress the kitty.

"Sometimes the demons we meet on the astral plane are created by our own
minds. Sometimes they are real." Taras explained. "I think the really big
ones were real demons, attracted by you, rather than created." Taras continued.

Mikala rubbed her face. "I can still feel their claws," she said softly.
"It hurt like when that woman attacked me." Mikala quickly shook her head.
"I'm not going back to sleep."

"I'll stay with her."

"Yes, you are. I'll give you a sedative that will put you too deeply to sleep
to go astral." Sandy reassured her.

Mikala looked torn. "I don't want drugs, but I don't want to do that again."

"You can't stay awake for ever. That will hurt you worse."

Taras and Darien started herding everyone else to bed.

"Please," Mikala pleaded. "Just a for a while."

"All right. We'll sit with you."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Taras returned and pulled two chairs up to the bed. He and Sandy sat down.

Mikala took a shaky breath and sighed. "Sorry. I keep setting everything
in an uproar. I must be wearing out my welcome by now."

"I'll have to admit I'm impressed." Sandy answered. "But you'll have to do
better than that to drive us away."

Mikala made a face. "I haven't had a nightmare like that since I was little."

"That wasn't a nightmare." Taras answered. "Your recent traumas when amplified
by the Force in you. That often happens to the inexperienced. You are now
strong enough to enter the astral plane. That is what happened tonight.
Otherwise, Darien, and the others would not have been able to help you. And
Darien says he was already there when he heard you."

She nodded slowly. "Alidar was there too. He and a bird," she said with a
bit of puzzled look. She looked over at Goldie was still sitting beside the
sleep couch. "Was Goldie really there?"

"Yes, Lonnie has trained her to follow him into the astral. He says she led
the kids to you. Cats are good at finding things, if you can convince them
they want to." Taras explained.

"I didn't know animals could be Force sensitive," she said.

"Ysaimiri are Force null. So why can't animals be Force sensitive?" Sandy
asked. "There are some species where every one is Force sensitive. It's rather
common in cats."

"I guess I just never thought about it before. That bird with Alidar must
be Force sensitive as well."

"All cat species have Force using individuals." Taras added. "Goldie comes
from a well known strain of Force sensitive leopards. When Lonnie was six
we decided that since he loved animals and was good about taking care of
his pets we'd get him one."

Mikala nodded.

"As you can imagine she's been the head pet ever since."

She smiled a little at that.

"And I'm sure you're right, this bird must been like Goldie."

"I didn't see it the last time though," she said thoughtfully.

"The last time?" He asked.

She looked over at him and grimaced. "I've talked to him a couple of times
now."

"But you thought they were dreams?" Sandy said.

She nodded. "The first was when I was in the bacta tank. I woke up and couldn't
move and then suddenly I was in Keiren's garden. It was so quiet. I don't
know how long I was there until he showed up and we talked."

She looked over at Taras. "You came then and said it was time to come home."

"Yes, I did." He laughed. "You see, it fooled me too that time. I thought
I was pulling you out of too deep a dream."

She smiled a bit. "I talked to him another time after that." She paused.
"I think he's the same Alidar my Grandmother spoke of, but he's nothing like
the stories she told me. He's...kind."

"It would appear so." Sandy said. "I'll want to talk to the kids about him
in the morning, but what I've heard agrees with that."

"Darien isn't anything like what my Grandmother told me Jedi were like."
She looked at him. "None of you are anything like what she told me Sith were."

"What did she tell you?" Sandy asked.

"Jedi weren't to be trusted. They were evil and heartless and would betray
you the first chance they got. Sith were worse."

"No doubt."

"Not only would a Sith betray you, they would kill you the first chance that
came along."

"Did she say where she learned about Sith?"

"From when she was a Padawan in the Temple. She said that she thought Sith
were a myth made up to scare the children until she found out they were real
after the Clone War. She said that's why we were hiding on Ord Mandell. That's
why I hid from you when you came and took Polena away."

"So you figured out I was a Sith?"

"Only a Sith could feel that dark," she said softly. "A Sith or my Mother."